Cover for a static roof vent

ABSTRACT

A cover is provided for a prior art static roof vent with the cover being positioned on the roof vent so as to permit the venting of attic air or the like from a building structure but which prevents wind-driven snow or rain from entering the interior of the roof vent.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1 Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a cover for a static roof vent and more particularly to a cover which is attached to a conventional static roof vent to prevent wind driven rain or snow from being blown downwardly through the static roof vent into the attic area therebelow.

2. Description of the Related Art

Static roof vents are utilized in conjunction with a vent opening formed in a building roof so that the hot air in the attic of the building may be vented outwardly through the vent opening and through the roof vent. The conventional static roof vents of the prior art do satisfactorily achieve venting of the attic but sometimes permit wind-driven rain and snow to be blown downwardly through the roof vent and through the vent opening into the attic which may cause damage to the building structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key aspects or essential aspects of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, this Summary is not intended for use as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

The cover of this invention is utilized with a conventional static roof vent which is usually of a two-piece construction and which is usually comprised of galvanized metal. The conventional static roof vent includes a flat base member having an upper edge, a lower edge and opposite side edges. Integrally formed with the base member is a square or four-sided hollow throat portion having upstanding side walls. The throat portion has an upper wall which extends across the upstanding side walls and which has louvers or the like formed therein to permit the passage of air therethrough. An inverted cap is secured to the throat portion by rivets or the like so that the upper wall of the cap is spaced above the upper wall of the throat portion and so that the lower edge of the cap is spaced above the base member.

The base member is centrally positioned over a vent opening formed in the roof decking of the building and is secured thereto by nails or the like extending downwardly through the base member and into the decking of the roof. In position, the throat portion of the static roof vent is centrally positioned over the vent opening formed in the roof.

In normal operation, air is vented from the building attic or the like upwardly through the vent opening formed in the roof decking, upwardly through the interior of the throat portion of the static roof vent, and upwardly through the louvers or vent openings formed in the upper wall of the throat portion. The air vented through the louvers in the throat portion of the static roof vent then extend downwardly between the outside surface of the throat portion and the inside surface of the side walls of the cap and thence outwardly to the atmosphere. Although the conventional static roof vent described hereinabove performs satisfactorily to vent hot air from the building attic, wind-driven snow or rain may be blown beneath the lower end of the cap and into the louvers or vent openings formed in the upper end of the throat portion with the rain or show then passing downwardly through the vent opening in the building roof, which may cause damage to the building structure.

In the instant invention, an inverted cover extends around and over the vent cap of the static roof vent in a spaced relationship with respect thereto. The cover includes a top wall and side walls extending downwardly therefrom. The top wall of the cover is provided with vent openings or louvers formed therein. The side walls of the cover have lower ends which are disposed above the base member of the static roof vent. The side walls of the cover are spaced outwardly of the side walls of the throat portion of the static roof vent with the top wall of the cover being spaced above the upper end of the throat portion.

The cover of this invention greatly reduces the possibility that wind-driven snow or rain may be driven downwardly through the throat portion of the static roof vent and into the attic of the building structure.

It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide a cover for a static roof vent.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cover for a static roof vent which greatly reduces the possibility of wind-driven snow or rain being driven downwardly through the roof vent and into the attic over which the roof vent is positioned.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cover for a static roof vent wherein the cover may be easily secured to existing static roof vents.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cover for a static roof vent which is economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a prior art static roof vent and the static roof vent cover of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a prior art static roof vent;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the static roof vent cover of this invention mounted over a static roof vent with portions thereof cut away to more fully illustrate the invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the static roof vent cover of this invention mounted-on a prior art static roof vent;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the static roof vent cover of this invention; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the static roof vent cover mounted on a static roof vent which is mounted on the roof of a building structure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Embodiments are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying figures, which form a part hereof and show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments. These embodiments are disclosed in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. However, embodiments may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense in that the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.

The numeral 10 refers to a prior art static roof vent which is of two-piece construction and is usually comprised of galvanized metal. Roof vent 10 includes a flat base member 12 having side edges 14, 16, 18 and 20. Integrally formed with base member 12 is a square or four-sided hollow throat portion 22 having upstanding side walls. 24, 26, 28 and 30. Roof vent 10 includes an upper wall 32 which is integrally formed with throat portion 22 and which extends over the upper end of throat portion 22. Upper wall 32 is provided with a plurality of slits or louvers 34 formed therein to permit the passage of air therethrough. An inverted cap 36 is secured to throat portion 22 by rivets 38 or the like so that the upper wall 40 of cap 36 is spaced above upper wall 32 of roof vent 10 and so that the lower edge 42 of cap 36 is spaced above base member 12.

Base member 12 is centrally positioned over a vent opening 44 formed in the roof decking 46 of roof 47 and is secured thereto by nails 48 or the like extending downwardly through base member 12 and into decking 46. When so positioned, throat portion 22 is centrally positioned over vent opening 44. Normally, roofing paper or tar paper 52 will be initially placed on the roof decking 46 with a hole formed therein which communicates with the vent opening 44. The roof vent 10 will normally be positioned over the roofing paper or tar paper 50 in conventional fashion. Shingles 52 are then nailed to the roof decking 46 so as to partially extend over the side edges of base member 12.

In operation, air is vented from the building attic or the like upwardly through vent opening 44 upwardly through the interior of throat portion 22, upwardly through louvers or slits 34, thence downwardly between the outside surface of throat portion 22 and the inside surface of the side walls of the cap 36, and thence outwardly through the atmosphere. It has been found that although the static roof vent 10 satisfactorily vents hot air from the attic of the building, wind-driven snow or rain is sometimes blown into the interior of the roof vent beneath the cap 36 and thence through the louvers or slits 34 in the upper end of throat portion 22 with the snow and rain then dropping down into the attic or the like which may cause damage to the building structure.

It is to this conventional static roof vent 10, that the instant roof vent cover is attached to prevent or substantially reduce wind-driven snow or rain from passing downwardly through the static roof vent 10 into the building attic. Although the roof vent 10 is shown to be of a particular design, the instant invention may be used with other types of static roof vents which include an upwardly standing stack or roof vent which may be of square, rectangular or circular configuration.

The numeral 54 refers to the cover of this invention which includes an upper wall 56 and downwardly extending side walls 58, 60, 62 and 64 with the upper wall 56 having vent openings, louvers or slits 66 formed therein. The cover 54 is preferably rectangular in configuration but may be square shaped if so desired. The cover 54 is positioned over the cap 36 so that the side walls thereof are spaced outwardly of the throat portion 22. The lower ends of the side walls 26 and 28 have spaced-apart L-shaped clips 68 secured thereto with the clips being secured to the roof material so that the upper and side edges of the cover 54 are closely spaced from the shingles or the like with the lower edge of the cover 54 having a space therebelow so that any water entering the vent opening 66 in the cover 54 may drain from the interior of the cover.

The fact that the lower edges of the cover 54 are closely positioned adjacent the upper surface of the shingles or the like greatly reduces the possibility that wind-driven snow or rain may be driven into the interior of the roof vent as sometimes occurs in the prior art static roof vents.

In use, the air exiting from the roof vent 10 will pass upwardly through the vent openings 66 in the upper wall of cover 54 so as to ensure the proper venting of the attic or the like in the building.

Thus, it can be seen that a novel cover has been provided for a static roof vent which substantially reduces the possibility of wind-driven snow or rain from entering the interior of the roof vent and then falling downwardly into the attic of the building structure. It can therefore be seen that the invention accomplishes all of its stated objectives.

Although the invention has been described in language that is specific to certain structures and methodological steps, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific structures and/or steps described. Rather, the specific aspects and steps are described as forms of implementing the claimed invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be practiced without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended. 

1. A static roof vent for positioning over a vent opening formed in a building roof, comprising: a generally flat base member, having an upper surface and a lower surface and having spaced-apart end and side edges which are adapted to be secured to the building roof; said base member having a central opening positioned above the vent opening in the building; a hollow throat portion extending upwardly from said base member inwardly of the side edges thereof; said throat portion being in communication with said central opening in said base member; said throat portion having upper and lower ends, inner and outer surfaces and side walls extending downwardly from said upper end of said throat portion; said throat portion having an upper wall extending across its upper end; said upper wall of said throat portion having air openings formed therein; a vent cap having an upper wall and side walls extending downwardly therefrom; said vent cap being secured to said throat portion so that said upper wall of said vent cap is spaced above said upper end of said throat portion and so that said lower end of said vent cap is spaced above said base member and so that said side walls of said vent cap are positioned outwardly of said side walls of said throat portion; and a cover extending around and over said vent cap in a spaced relationship thereto; said cover having an upper wall and side walls extending downwardly therefrom; said side walls of said cover having lower ends which are disposed above said base member; said side walls of said cover being spaced outwardly of said side walls of said side walls of said vent cap; said upper wall of said cover being spaced above said upper end of said vent cap; said upper wall of said cover having vent openings formed therein.
 2. The static roof vent of claim 1 wherein said throat portion and said base member are of one-piece construction.
 3. The static roof vent of claim 1 wherein said lower ends of said side walls of said cover are closely positioned above said base member.
 4. In combination with a static roof vent including a generally flat base member, a hollow vented throat portion extending upwardly from the base member, and an inverted cap secured to the throat portion which extends thereonto, comprising: an inverted cover positioned over the cap of the static roof vent.
 5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said inverted cover includes a vented upper wall.
 6. The combination of claim 4 wherein said cover includes side walls extending downwardly from said vented upper wall; said upper wall of said cover being vented.
 7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said side walls of said cover have lower ends which are closely spaced-above said base member. 